The Reflection is Deep
by Winslow Fisherman
Summary: Sly Cooper is going to share an artifact, or should I say a journal entry written by Tennessee Kid Cooper. Dive into a story to find out that there are a lot worse things out there in the world that can cause chaos. Note # 1: One-Shot. Note # 2: Might turn into a possible series.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper. Everything else is fictional.**

**The Reflection Is Deep**

_Family can holds many items, which we would never consider precious, but for me there are many artifacts that come from my family that I find fascinating. One example I have on me would be a piece of paper that comes from my ancestor, Tennessee Kid Cooper, the famous western outlaw. My dad had tons of material, which he told contained fascinating tales, but this piece of paper every time I read it, makes me wonder about the world's mysteries. It's not really a story, which is what probably most would believe, it's rather a journal entry of some kind that would make any creature go insane, yet I'd say it's what my ancestor found that is truly mad._

* * *

The west is wild as usual and I've done a good number of robberies. My latest Robbery happened at the bank in town, but what I found I wish I'd never had. This shall be my only record on paper by my own writing. I guess you could say that what I found is something, which might be considered glorious and make any man rich, but if any soul were to take what I found, then they would deal with the curse that came upon me. It was hard to break the evil that fell upon me, but I hope that whoever finds this spreads the word, or else may God have mercy on not their soul but their mind.

I robbed the bank in town late at night and took all sorts of things. Stored jewelry, cash, anything of great value, but the only object that made me think for a while was a snake's skull, which was covered in a shiny gold color. Something told me leave it alone, but I ignored those feelings after much debate and took it. As I sat late in my camp I stared at the golden snake's skull in the campfire light. It shined so beautiful and did little twinkles. I did not know why some creature would store such a thing but it must have great value to be in the bank.

The sun rose and I woke up the next morning feeling so good, but then I got a strange feeling and turned around. The golden snake's skull I had collected reflected my face however the reflection scared me. I know it sounds like a bunch of hogwash but I'm not lying. Just looking at myself made me feel angry. I cannot detect where it was coming from, but I could feel it in me. What was I hating you may ask, well to be quite honest, I hadn't a clue at the time. I just felt like I needed to harm something, or destroy whatever came into contact with me. Finally I broke myself of the feelings and pulled off more jobs.

I came home with quite a load of trinkets but my eyes didn't focus so much on what I'd taken. I was fixated on that snake's skull; I just stared at my reflection until it was night. I could feel the hatred growing from within me stronger than ever before. Still I could not detect where it was coming from but it was close by. I held the golden snake's skull once more examining its beauty and shine. I could feel the anger growing and my heart full of rage. I wanted to do something dreadful that I'd never done before, but what I could not decide on. Finally though I was able to drift off to sleep with the skull next to me.

The next sunrise came and I turned over looking into the golden snake's skull. This second sunrise I finally found the thing that was causing the anger. It was not the golden snake's skull but what I saw in the skull, which my own image. This skull helped me see something, feel something, understand who was the biggest threat to anything. I was the monster and so plans began to form, ideas popped in and out, and lastly fantasies of horrible designs played out. I finally made a terrifying choice of how to rid the world of the evil. I decided to lay my head on a train track and wait for my departure while the train carried on.

As I lied in wait for the train I stared at my reflection in the golden snake's skull. I began to laugh like a mad man. Soon I would cleanse the earth of an evil, which needn't have ever existed. I would be sent to a place where a vermin such as myself would be free to start life a new, or at least that's what ran through my head. Then that's when it hit me, these were not my thoughts at all. True they were coming form my head, but they were not right at all. I realized then that the absolute true evil was the golden snake's skull. Its beauty was just making me see something, which wasn't there. It was invading my head and planting poison within me. I hear the train coming and in good timing got my head off the track.

I starred at this evil thing and decided to get rid of it. I went to the nearest river and dropped it in. I watched it float faraway with the gold sparkling like a lure of precious false eyes. I could feel all my hatred leaving me as if it were being carried off out to sea. I was finally free and able to carry out big plans once more, but if that golden snake's skull is ever found, then I hope it is destroyed because it is not the image that is seen that makes it out to be eliminated, but rather what the image is casted upon that makes it worthy of destruction.

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_Tennessee Kid Cooper was a great master thief, but I feel sorry for my ancestor for having to deal with something of pure evil. My only question I have when I read his only written work is this, who put the golden snake's skull there? Well, I guess no one will ever know until records of other kinds are found about such a thing. Until next time we meet dear reader and I hope to one day tell you more interesting stories about items, which were owned or even written down by my ancestors._


End file.
